We had the dreamiest lunch at Hiyu Wine Farm. We were given the amazing opportunity last week to visit Hiyu in Hood River, Oregon. It was Mike’s 30th birthday, so we celebrated with a lunch wine pairing that was above and beyond all expectations.

Hiyu is a 30 acre biodynamic vineyard/farm. It’s the most beautiful, zen place and everything is inspired by nature. The property is composed of 14 acres of vines, 4 acres of field and pasture, .5 acres of market garden, 4 acres of forest and a pond. The rest of the acreage is in grounds that are being moved toward food forests. Upon arrival, you’ll likely be greeted by he smell of wild roses and prairie flowers… and Chef, the friendliest vineyard dog. I felt my cortisol lower more and more and stress melt away the longer we stayed.

The Wine Farmer’s Lunch changes daily. Whatever the farm has to offer in season, that’s the menu. For our main meal, we were served a family-style course of Hiyu ham with lovage and capers, focaccia with green onions, green lentils with spring garlic, snap peas with ricotta and mint, seared cabbage with tahini.

Then, we were served a cheese course of Sawtooth with Rhubarb and Thyme.

Finally, for dessert we were served semifreddo with meringue and strawberries from the farm. HOLY HELL. IT WAS AMAZING.

Our new pet project is to recreate as many Hiyu dishes as we can for dinner at home. We started with our favorite veggie from the day: Grilled Cabbage Steak with Tahini Sauce.

The meal was paired with 5 wines + Hiyu’s Floréal Cider to finish. This experience isn’t one to taste a wine next to food to enhance or change the flavor. It’s meant to drink at your own pace, no wine was specific to a course or a dish. It brings the absolute best and most fresh ingredients together in a way that showcases the beauty of the farm.